From chemical-free toilet cleaners to natural oven cleaning solutions, these DIY natural cleaning home remedies will get the job done
Natural cleaning solutions can save time, money, and reduce chemical exposure, so to help you keep your home cleaner and healthier for longer, here are 15 natural home remedies for cleaning.
If you don’t have time to make everything yourself, you can purchase natural cleaning products but generally speaking, it’s cheaper to make natural cleaning products yourself at home.
Stock your cupboard with white vinegar, salt, baking soda, Borax, lemons and let’s get to it!
Baking soda for oven cleaning
A paste of baking soda and water cleans ovens without the chemicals or the hassle of the self cleaning cycle. Just make a paste on the bottom of the oven, leave for a few hours and wipe off for a shiny, chemical-free oven.
Switch to microfibre
Microfibre is a man-made fibre smaller than a strand of silk (ie. VERY small!). Microfibre cleaning cloths are so effective at removing dirt that you don’t need to use detergents and other chemicals to get things spotless.
I’ve saved a lot of money since I switched to microfibre, and I was using inexpensive homemade cleaners before switching. I have a basic set of antibacterial microfibre cloths and a microfibre mop set that I absolutely love and use daily.
I can clean my entire house (except toilets) with just water now. To keep things simple, I have one colour-coded microfibre cloth per room. No chemicals and it saves money.
Make scouring powder
For soap scum on bathtubs and showers, make your own scouring powder with 2 parts baking soda, 1 part salt, and 1 part Borax. It will cut through even the toughest scum.
Citrus infused vinegar
Fill a jar with citrus peels and pour undiluted white vinegar over them. Leave for a few days (up to two weeks) and strain out the vinegar to use as a natural cleaner. It works as a window cleaner (dilute with water), for mopping floors, or for disinfecting surfaces.
Treat stains naturally
Laundry soaps and stain treaters can be some of the worst offenders for toxic chemicals. There are natural options that work really well, but it helps to know a little chemistry, as different natural options will work better on different types of stains.
Clean the dishwasher
To clean your dishwasher effortlessly, fill a dishwasher safe bowl or jar with 2 cups of vinegar and set on the top rack of the dishwasher. Run through on a hot cycle with no other dishes in the dishwasher to clean and remove the musty odour.
Clean the insinkerator
I use my garbage disposal a lot and sometimes it gets that not-so-lovely odour. To combat this, there are a couple of options:
- Cut a lemon in half, shove in garbage disposal and grind (with water running) for 10 seconds.
- Freeze lemon and orange peels in ice cube trays with vinegar or water and throw these in and grind for 10 seconds.
- Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda in and then 1 cup of distilled white vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes before running the water and and the disposal.
Natural air freshener
In a medium saucepan, simmer a quart of water with natural ingredients to freshen and clean the air. Just make sure not to let the water evaporate off completely. My favourite combinations are:
- 1 sliced lemon, 2 tablespoons rosemary and a dash of vanilla.
- 1 sliced lime and 1 piece chopped ginger root.
- 1 sliced orange, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg and cloves (smells like pumpkin pie).
- 1 sliced lime and 2 tablespoons thyme.
How to clean your shower head
Clean a shower head by filling a plastic bag with white vinegar and then tie the bag around the shower head so that the shower head is immersed in the vinegar. Leave on for up to 12 hours and remove carefully. Pour it down the drain and your shower head should be clean and free of hard water residue.
Car upholstery
Clean stains in car upholstery with Dawn detergent, baking soda, and soda water.
Clean toilet without chemicals
Dump a cup of baking soda into the toilet and let it soak for at least an hour. Pour in a cup of white vinegar, leave for five minutes and flush. Unless the toilet is really dirty, this will clean it without scrubbing.
Stove vent fan
Struggling to clean the sticky cooking residue that builds up in your rangehood. Clean the stove vent fan with boiling water and baking soda.
This article originally appeared on Homes to Love Australia.
Photography by: bauersyndication.com.au
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